Crash and Burn
by Tahiri Solo
Summary: Sometime after Rebirth, Anakin and Tahiri travel to Coruscant. But Anakin isn't prepared for what happens to Tahiri when they get there . . .


Crash and Burn  
By Tahiri Solo  
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Disclaimer: All the characters, places, and such mentioned in this story are the property of Lucasfilm. I own nothing and am in no way making any money off of this story. Also, if this story bears any resemblance to stories written by others, that is purely coincidental. No infringement is intended.  
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A/N: Just as I was finishing this fic, the song "Crash and Burn" by Savage Garden came on, and I thought that the song really fit the story. I didn't want to change it into a songfic, but the song sounded so much like the fic, I changed the title to "Crash and Burn" instead.  
This story is dedicated to Amadalla. (Angela)  
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"You can do one of two things, Tahiri," Tionne informed the young girl. "We're leaving the Errant Venture, and you can't stay here. You can come with me and Kam to the planet we're trying to colonize for the Jedi, or you can go to Coruscant with Anakin."  
  
Tionne looked hard at her, though her voice was gentle. "I'd prefer it if you went with us. I think going to Coruscant might upset you."  
  
Tahiri bit her lip. "I need to be with Anakin. I don't care where I am, as long as we're together," she said softly, her cheeks turning pink.  
  
"Are you sure? Tahiri, there's so much technology there . . ."  
  
Tahiri nodded. "I need to be with Anakin."  
  
Tionne smiled. "You don't have to blush. Corran told me about the locker incident."  
  
Tahiri's cheeks turned bright red and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, no," she groaned.   
  
Tionne laughed. "You don't have it half as bad as Anakin. Corran told Mara too. I don't think Anakin is too happy about that."  
  
"Mara didn't hurt him, did she?" Tahiri asked, only half joking. From what she knew of the woman, Mara Jade Skywalker could be a pure terror.  
  
"She about teased him to death, but she let up when she realized he was really sensitive about the subject. Mara's pretty fond of him. Especially after he saved her life on Dantooine," Tionne answered.  
  
"Do you . . . do you think Anakin regrets doing what he did?" Tahiri asked in a small, scared voice.  
  
"No," Tionne replied firmly. "From what I can tell, he doesn't regret it at all."  
  
Tahiri smiled in relief. "Good. When are we leaving?"  
  
  
Two days later, Anakin and Tahiri were in a small cargo ship that was taking them to Corucant.   
  
They had had to borrow the ship from Booster, because if they took Anakin's XJ-Wing, Tahiri would have had to sit on his lap the whole time . . . although she wasn't sure if she would really mind that.  
  
Tahiri blushed at the turn her thoughts had taken. *Get a grip on yourself, girl. You don't want him sensing what you're thinking. That would be embarrassing.*  
  
She risked a glance over at him. Anakin sat in the pilot's ship, leaning over the controls and adjusting a something-or-other that Tahiri had no idea how to work.   
  
A lock of dark brown hair had fallen in his eyes, and before Tahiri could stop herself, she reached over and brushed it out of the way for him.  
  
Anakin looked over at her with a smile, and as his ice-blue eyes met hers, Tahiri's cheeks turned pink.  
  
Anakin reached out to gently brush her cheek with his hand. "Tahiri, it's just me. You don't have to blush."  
  
"That's why I'm blushing. Because it's you." Her voice was barely audible, and her cheeks were even redder.   
  
In one smooth movement, Anakin slid out of his chair, walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her out of her chair as well.  
  
Once she was on her feet, Anakin held her close against his chest, but just as his lips were about to meet hers, the comm button rang out.  
  
Anakin let go of her and swore, flicking the comm unit on.  
  
It was Mara.  
  
The older woman laughed as she saw Anakin. "You look disgusted. Did I interrupt anything?"  
  
She laughed again. "Never mind. I know I did, and I'm sorry. But I had to tell you something. You need a special code to get on Coruscant now. They've upped security. I just now found out about it."  
  
She recited the code, made sure he had it, then grinned at him. "I'll go now, so you can get back to whatever it was you two were doing."  
  
She winked, then the screen went blank.  
  
Anakin shook his head and sighed. "She's never going to leave me alone. Not after Corran's little chat with her."  
  
The moment was broken, and they both knew it.   
  
Tahiri sighed, half in disappointment, half in relief. She got the strangest fluttery feeling every time Anakin touched her, and it simultaneously thrilled and scared her.   
  
Anakin flashed a grin over at her. "Later," he promised, his voice teasing.  
  
Tahiri's insides turned over at the look in his eyes, and she felt her knees suddenly go weak.   
  
Anakin sensed that she was getting flustered, and he reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Tahiri," he said softly, "I'm not going to move any faster than you're ready for. I would never do that to you. Not to mention I'm every bit as nervous as you are."  
  
He squeezed her hand again, and then turned back to flying the ship.   
  
Tahiri stayed still for a moment, looking over at him. His face was intent on the controls although she knew his thoughts were intent on her.   
  
She had a sudden urge to walk over and sit in his lap, but quickly pushed it back. She didn't want to seem that forward . . . although she had a feeling he wouldn't mind.   
  
  
The rest of the trip to Coruscant went without event. Neither of them said anything about their almost-encounter in the ship, both slightly flustered and afraid.  
  
When they landed, Tahiri trotted off to the cargo hold to get her luggage. Anakin already had his with him.  
  
She came back a few moments later with a large, heavy pack slung over her shoulder. Anakin grinned at her and took it himself.  
  
Tahiri smiled at him in thanks, and they descended the ship's ramp.  
  
Anakin heard Tahiri gasp when she saw the planet, and he grinned as he saw her eyes widen hugely.  
  
"I'm not on Tatooine anymore," she breathed.  
  
Anakin laughed. "No, this is definitely different from where you grew up."  
  
Tahiri examined her surroundings with her sharp green gaze. "It's ugly," she announced.   
  
"You'll get used to it," Anakin said, smiling.   
  
Tahiri wrinkled her nose. "It smells too."  
  
"You'll get used to that too."  
  
"Always the optimist, aren't we," Tahiri growled, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder.  
  
Anakin laughed and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Come on," he said. "I'll show you the Imperial Palace, where I live."  
  
Tahiri grinned up at him. "Let's go."  
  
  
Several weeks later, Anakin went looking for Tahiri. She'd wondered off to go exploring a few hours ago, but Anakin wasn't sure where she was and he wanted to find her.   
  
Anakin could tell that Tahiri was upset by being on Coruscant, and he wanted to try and make her experience of being on the planet as pleasant as possible. He hated seeing her so unhappy.  
  
Mara had told Anakin about a cute little rooftop café, and he intended to take Tahiri there.   
  
The only problem was, he had no idea where she was.   
  
Anakin sighed and reached out in the Force to try and find her.   
  
He finally found her, on the roof of the Imperial Palace.  
  
Now why was she up there? Anakin wondered idly.   
  
With a sigh, Anakin began searching for a turbolift that would take him up to the roof with her.  
  
  
Finally, several minutes later, Anakin had reached the roof and spotted Tahiri there, staring out of the ledge with her back to him.  
  
As he walked closer to her, he could see that she was trembling, and he heard her whispering softly to herself.  
  
When Anakin strained his ears to hear what she was saying, he went cold with shock.  
  
She was speaking in Vong.  
  
Anakin, scared for his friend and unsure what to do, walked up to her and said softly, "Tahiri?"  
  
She didn't turn around, but said softly, in Basic, "I hate it here."  
  
Anakin wrapped his arms around her and embraced her from behind. "Why?" he asked softly. "Do you want me to take you someplace else?"  
  
"Everywhere I look, there are abominations. Only I know they're just buildings, but a part of me can't help but think of them as abominations." She started to cry.  
  
Anakin gently turned her around in his arms, and she wept into his chest.   
  
Anakin held her close until she finally stopped crying. When she did, she didn't move out of his arms, but laid her head on his shoulder and whispered, "I hate them, for what they did to me. I'm not the same, and I know I never will be. But when I hear about them being killed and their strongholds being attacked . . . it hurts me, Anakin. Like I still think of them as my family, my people. Like I'm still one of them. What is wrong with me?" she cried, burying her face in his neck and weeping again.  
  
Anakin was nearly in tears himself. Seeing her so upset ripped a hole in his heart, and at that moment he would have given anything to ease her pain.   
  
Anakin felt through the Force that she was emotionally exhausted. She was strong, but she had been through so much. She was obviously on the verge of some emotional cliff, and Anakin would bring her back from it if it was the last thing he did.  
  
She needed strength. Anakin knew of only one way to give it to her.  
  
He tore down all of his barriers, and wrapped his Force presence tightly around hers tickling at the edge of her own barriers.  
  
*Come here* he thought to her.  
  
It didn't take Tahiri long to understand what he meant. Seconds later, she had removed her own barriers and allowed him to wrap his mind around hers.  
  
She clung to him, mentally and physically, and he poured his strength and love into her.  
  
Tahiri soon found herself trembling. She'd never experienced such a deep level of intimacy with anyone, not like this. She knew his every thought, every emotion, just as he now knew hers.  
  
She felt his reluctance to leave the academy so many months ago, his inability to look at her and say goodbye. She felt all the pain, torment, and fear he had went through at her imprisonment by the Yuuzhan Vong, his intense fear of losing her.  
  
She also felt something else, something that truly shocked her.  
  
She felt his love for her, and it was so deep and strong that it actually frightened her.  
  
Tahiri hadn't ever thought that anyone could love her as much as she now knew Anakin did.  
  
*Well, I do love you, I can't tell you how much,* Anakin thought to her.  
  
*You don't need to tell me how much. I already know,* she thought back, her pain almost completely forgotten in the knowledge of Anakin's love for her.  
  
She stopped crying, and achieved a level of peacefulness, of completeness, that had been missing in her for months.  
  
The Yuuzhan Vong weren't her family. They never had been, and never would be. They had hurt her, tortured her, confused her, tried to take away the very essence of her being. But Anakin had saved her from that. He was her family.   
  
Tahiri smiled, her face still buried in his shoulder. Nothing would ever hurt her, not as long as she had Anakin by her side to protect her.  
  
"I love you," she whispered to him.  
  
Anakin kissed her softly on the cheek, and he realized that she had fallen asleep.  
  
Anakin smiled, knowing that now she was mostly over her brainwashing and torture by the Vong. She was more content now than he had ever seen her.  
  
"I love you too, Tahiri," he whispered back, even though he knew she couldn't hear.   
  
Smiling still, he picked her up and carried her inside, feeling, for once, at peace with the galaxy himself.   
  
She was all right, and nothing else mattered.   
  
  



End file.
